


Castle Doctrine

by segerge



Series: TASK FORCE [46]
Category: HERO Champions
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-30 16:25:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10167080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/segerge/pseuds/segerge
Summary: (January 2007) Who is the strange homeless teen exhibiting superpowers that has stumbled into the lives of Clan Hawkins, and why is Shadow Destroyer so interested in him?





	

**Author's Note:**

> **Warnings** : Language, intense action sequences, teen angst
> 
> * * *
> 
> #### DRAMATIS PERSONAE
> 
> **TASK FORCE (covert American supergroup)**
> 
>   * Ted Jameson (AKA Ranger), disgustingly-powerful speedster and team leader, Director of PRIMUS
>   * Julie Dormyer Hawkins (AKA Ladyhawk), Chairman of the Board of Directors for ProStar, disgustingly-powerful ninja with latent powers of temporal visualization
>   * Dr. Bob Hawkins (AKA Starforce), Senior Research Scientist for ProStar, disgustingly-powerful power-armor wearer/gadgeteer
>   * Olivia d'Alembert (AKA Thelambra), supermodel, wife of Ted Jameson, luck-based Empyrean telekinetic
>   * David Kayami (AKA Grandfather), disgustingly-powerful Navajo-themed supermage/cleric
>   * Jason Kayami (AKA Ghostbane), Brick with power of magic absorption
> 

> 
> **Clan Hawkins**
> 
>   * Nathan Hawkins, son of Bob and Julie Hawkins, speedster
>   * Laura Hawkins, daughter of Bob and Julie Hawkins, time-elemental
>   * James Hawkins, son of Bob and Julie Hawkins, gadgeteer
>   * Jillian Hawkins, daughter of Bob and Julie Hawkins, cyberkinetic
>   * Shina Arikawa, butler/chauffer/bodyguard for Julie Hawkins (her 'Alfred')
> 

> 
> **Villains**
> 
>   * James Harmon III (AKA Shadow Destroyer), alternate timeline version of Doctor Destroyer
>   * Oubilette, magical creation of Shadow Destroyer, shadow-powered assassin
>   * Corundum, techno-magical creation of Shadow Destroyer, brick
> 

> 
> **Other**
> 
>   * Jason, homeless teen with powers of 6th-dimensionsal manipulation
>   * Tim Corwin, Agent in charge of PRIMUS' DFW Detachment Special Operations Section
>   * Ajit Khangura (AKA Suburban Lion), independent Sikh-themed superhero
>   * Rajitha Gune, junior project engineer at ProStar
>   * Dr. Matthew Fuseli (AKA Biomaster), mutant neurokinetic manipulator and reformed master supervillain
> 

> 
> **AUTHOR'S NOTE 1** : Telepathy is denoted by (( )), internal monologue by [[ ]]  
>  **AUTHOR'S NOTE 2** : Carrollton Park Church in this story is on the site which in Real Life is occupied by Bent Tree Bible Church in Carrollton, TX. Details of its internal layout are also taken from Bent Tree Church.  
>  **AUTHOR'S NOTE 3:** : Suburban Lion is based on the superhero Imperial Lion from the Champions 4th-edition supplement "Kingdom of Champions". He is located in the suburb of Richardson because it has the largest Sikh-based community in America as of the time of this writing.
> 
> * * *

(Hebron Road and Dallas North Tollway, Carrolton, TX. Evening)

(Our story starts with the DART bus currently servicing route 347, which has just left the bus stop servicing the mall complex between the Dallas North Tollway and Midway Road and is westbound on Hebron. The bus currently holds a scattered load of workers who have just gone off-shift from their stores, and one other person whom we are now interested in)

(Jason is a dirty and scruffy-looking teenager wearing a hoodie under a winter jacket that have seen better days, protecting a bedroll and backpack underneath his legs. He nervously looks at the current passengers on the bus)

 **Jason** (internal monologue): [[I think I shook them when I got off at Spring Valley. If not, the transfer at Addison should've done it]]

(he looks at the day pass he scavenged from a white-collar worker earlier in the day at Park Hill station)

 **Jason** (internal monologue): [[that won't last past 3 AM. Gotta find somewhere to go to ground]] (beat) [[maybe there's a park with a shelter on this route. Never been on it before...]]

(the bus brakes to a stop at the next bus top, at the intersection of International Drive and Hebron. A fat man with a goatee and four leaner-looking men board the bus)

 **Jason** (internal monologue): [[oh crap]]

(the fat man slowly ambles back through the bus, followed by the other four men. There is something about those men which appears to be triggering an Uncanny Valley response in the other passengers)

 **Jason** (internal monologue, trying not to be seen): [[go away go away go away go away...]]

(the fat man stops one row short of where Jason is attempting to hide in his hoodie. Beat, sniffs, then he looks right at Jason)

 **Fat man** : "There you are! You honestly thought you could lose me?"

(the lean men behind him all appear to shimmer darkly, each becoming metallic exoskeletons enclosing a humanoid form of pure darkness. The fat man has now seemingly produced a thick staff of some sort from thin air, gloating as the other passengers on the bus scream in terror)

 **Jason** (shouting while flinging his right arm toward the fat man): "Get AWAY from me!!"

(the sudden discharge of energy from Jason's hand catches everyone by surprise, including Jason. The fat man stumbles back, clutching his abdomen in agony after taking 2 BODY and 10 STUN)

(the Harnessed Shadows now open fire on Jason, all missing miserably with their Shadow Blasts. Enough collateral damage has been done to the bus by those misses that the rear suspension now fails. The bus starts sliding out of control westbound on Hebron)

(Sacrificing his bedroll and backpack, Jason bolts for it. He gets up to run for the back of the bus, and...)

(zzzzzZZZZZAP!!)

(...suddenly finds himself on the side street which the bus had just stopped at.)

 **Jason** (muttered): "I did it again. What's happening to me?"

(the convenience store immediately behind him is too close to Hebron Parkway to his liking, especially now that he's heard the distant CRASH! of bus 347 finally sliding to a halt. He sees cars and lights a couple of buildings to his south)

 **Jason** : "Maybe I can get some help..."

(zzzzzZZZZZAP!!)

 **Jason** (confused): "...there?"

(there is now here. He is in the parking lot of what appears to be a modern church with lights on inside)

 **Jason** : "Better than nothing."

(he walks toward the church entrance)

* * *

(Parking lot, Carrollton Park Church. One second later)

(the PRIMUS special detachment detailed to monitor Starforce is spending another boring evening in the parking lot outside Carrollton Park Church)

 **Agent 1** (watching monitors showing multiple views from nightvision cameras): "I'm bored. B-O-R-D bored."

 **Agent 2** : "It beats watching Romo botch the hold for the winning field goal on ESPN 24/7."

 **Agent 3** : "True dat."

 **Agent 2** (beat): "Whatever happened to UNTIL monitoring the Hawkins'? I miss seeing their surveillance van tagging along with us like I did when I was on this detail last decade."

 **Agent 3** : "Anymore, they just stay in their house across the street from them." (beat) "They've been keeping a *real* low profile since Istvatha V'Han's attack..." /* "The First Dimensional War" */

 **Agent 1** (interrupting): "Hold on, I may have something."

 **Agent 3** : "Whaddya got?"

 **Agent 1** : "Looks to be a teenaged vagrant. Just noticed him in the north end of the parking lot."

 **Agent 3** : "Where'd he come from?"

 **Agent 3** : "DART bus line 347 lets out across from Prestonwood Baptist at International Drive. He could have been walking down the street from the bus stop."

(Agent 1 zooms that camera and moves the display to the big screen in the van)

 **Agent 2** : "He's seen better days..."

 **Agent 1** : "Call it in?"

 **Agent 3** : "He doesn't look like he's a threat to Dr. Hawkins, and he looks like he could use all the help he can get. Let him be."

 **Agent 1** : "Copy that."

(the PRIMUS team continues monitoring as the vagrant enters Carrollton Park Church)

* * *

(inside Carrollton Park Church. One minute later)

(Jason is now in the lobby of a large church. A fountain rushes from the right, eventually draining into a pool equipped with railings. A closed coffe shop and hallways deeper into the church are to his left, as is an information kiosk whose attendant is talking to a shapely, medium-height woman with dark blonde hair)

 **Attendant** : "You're here to discuss what?"

 **Woman** (sultry alto voice): "Status check on the Dormyer Endowment and the Christiansen Scholarship."

 **Attendant** (picking up phone): "I'll let him know you're out front, ma'am." 

(He now hears music being played energetically from the room behind the fountain. Following it, he now finds himself in a church sanctuary. Several musicians are practicing the music he has been hearing [[Life](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esspChVpkfg) by William McDowell]. His attention is drawn to the piano player, a young-looking man with an infectuous smile who appears to be dancing while sitting on the piano bench playing. His enthusiasm on the song being rehearsed appears to have spread to the bassist, drummer, and two of the vocalists)

(The lead vocalist cuts the rest of the musicians off, smiling while shaking his head and looking back to the instrumentalists)

 **Leader** (to the piano player): "Dr. Hawkins? A little *less* R&B, please?"

(Bob 'Starforce' Hawkins' jaw drops open in shock)

 **Starforce** : "Excuse me?!?"

 **Leader** : "Just tone it down a little bit. It's a praise song, not Motown."

 **Starforce** (in disbelief, to the rest of the praise team): "Was I the only one who heard the Earth, Wind, and Fire vibe on the demo track?"

(the bassist, drummer, and the female vocalist smile as they all shake their heads 'No'. Beat, then Bob sticks his tongue out at the praise team leader -- prompting a laugh from everyone at rehearsal)

 **Leader** (laughing): "Just don't get carried away, okay?"

(Bob smiles as he salutes the praise team leader, then perks up with a quizzical expression on his face)

 **Starforce** : "Is that blaster fire outside?"

(there is a CRASH!! of something breaking out in the lobby. The blaster fire is now louder, along with the sound of something low and moaning)

 **Jason** : "No..."

(he peeks out into the Lobby and earns a Darkblast removing the other door from the entrance in which he is standing)

(there is a superbattle in progress in the church lobby. Two Harnessed Shadows are exchanging blasts with PRIMUS agents still outside the now-ruined East Entrance. The woman, inexplicably enough, is in the middle of the melee, now holding the Fat man's staff and narrowly missing hitting him in the head with it. Two more Harnessed Shadows raise their metallic-framed arms at Jason, moaning)

 **Jason** (screaming): "NO!!"

(he raises his hands. The Darkblasts from the Harnessed Shadows hit... something... which briefly appears in front of Jason and reflects them back upon their original shooters. Both miss)

(the Fat man shoots a particularly-violent Darkblast at the woman which looks like it should have hit her except for her suddenly-flamboyant display of acrobatics around him)

(segment 6, effective DEX 35. Having finished using the staff to aid her acrobatics, the woman spins it expertly in both hands and finally catches the Fat man on the side of the head with it for 31 STUN after defenses. The hit is violent enough to send the Fat man flying backward until he hits his head on the edge of the fountain, knocking him out)

(segment 8, effective DEX 35. The woman throws the Fat Man's staff at the legs of the Harnessed Shadows, catching one of them and knocking it down for 21 STUN after defenses)

 **Woman** (to Jason): "Are you okay?"

 **Jason** (frantic): "Please help me! They're chasing me!!"

 **Starforce** (offscreen, from the Sanctuary): "NINJETTE? HERD 'EM INTO THE SANCTUARY!!"

 **Woman** : "On it!" (to Jason) "Fall back into the Sanctuary! We've got a surprise for them!"

(one of the Harnessed Shadows trying to hold PRIMUS off collapses into metallic debris with an unearthly, keening wail after finally taking a few blaster bolts too many)

(reflecting another Darkblast from the remaining Harnessed Shadow attacking him, Jason backpedals into the Sanctuary as the woman dives for the staff again and the tripped-up Harnessed Shadow still tangled with it tries to get up. Blaster bolts whistling around it, the remaining Harnessed Shadow backpedals away from the East Entrance and turns for the Sanctuary)

(segment 11, effective DEX 35. Jason sees the woman catch her Harnessed Shadow between its legs with the staff and throw it out of view. There is the low, moaning sound of a darkblast, followed by a spray of metallic debris which the woman barely ducks under. He turns around to see that the piano player is now up at a sound board on the stage, frantically manipulating controls)

 **Starforce** (to Jason): "KID! GET UP HERE, QUICKLY!!"

(Jason breaks into a run for the front of the sanctuary. So do the Harnessed Shadows, the first of which tackles Jason before he can make it)

 **Jason** (screaming in fear for his life): "NOOOO!!"

 **Starforce** (twisting a control): "Dammit..."

(there is a sound that fills Jason's entire world, more felt than heard, even louder than his own screams. The world flickers and shimmers as he tries to put his hands over his ears. Fade to black)

* * *

(The next morning)

(With a start, Jason wakes up. He doesn't recognize where he is except that it's a meticulously-clean bedroom of some sort)

 **Jason** : "Where *am* I?"

(he pivots to a sitting position on a twin-sized bed and sees a couple of windows. He moves quickly to the closest one, and is rewarded with a sort-of westward facing view over several garage stalls and a driveway that eventually heads into trees. A two-story Norman-style stone mega-mansion with a Victorian-style turret and high roofs extends off to the left)

 **Jason** (muttered): "Where have I seen this house before?"

(There is a knock from somewhere else. He warily tracks it past the clean bathroom to his left and the mostly-empty walk-in closet to his right, past stairs down apparently to the garage, a mini-dining room, and an equally-mini home theater setup before locating the knocks as coming from the closed door next to the kitchen.)

 **Jason** (hesitant): "Come in?"

(the door opens. A tall, dark-haired woman of Japanese descent wearing a blue kimono glides into where Jason is)

 **Woman** : "Konichiwa! Welcome to Dormyer Manor."

 **Jason** : "Who are you?"

 **Woman** : "I am Shina Arikawa, head of domestic staff. And you are?"

 **Jason** (beat): "Call me Jason."

 **Shina** : "Very well, Master Jason." (beat, turns around) "If you wish to take a shower before you join the rest of the family for breakfast, you may do so."

 **Jason** : "You have breakfast here?"

 **Shina** (beat, mysterious smile): "We have a lot of things here, Master Jason. Breakfast is only one of them, but I insist that you clean yourself before you join the rest of us."

 **Jason** : "Uh... okay."

 **Shina** (archly): "You *do* know how to shower, don't..."

 **Jason** (interrupting, angry): "YES!"

 **Shina** : "I will come for you in 15 minutes."

 **Jason** : "Uh... thank you."

(Shina nods before exiting the Guest Apartment)

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II, Lakewood Village, TX. 15 minutes later)

(Jason is much cleaner now, and in clean clothes he discovered waiting for him in the bedroom. He opens the door to the Guest Apartment just as Shina reaches the top of the stairs)

 **Shina** : "Excellent, Master Jason. Follow me, please?"

(Jason does what Shina requests silently. He now notices that she has a back holster for a large handgun as she turns around. They are on an enclosed balcony of some sort overlooking an Olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool to his left. Shina immediately takes the stairs to the right, followed by Jason)

(Shina and Jason leave the stairs on a bigger enclosed balcony still overlooking the outdoor pool. She ushers him around some closets, then to the right. To his right is a very well-equipped kitchen seemingly made of stone, wood, and steel. To his left, a wide and airy space with comfortable-looking chairs and love seats, a large-screen TV, and a fireplace with windows overlooking a large lake reflecting the morning sunlight. Ahead of him appears to be a cozy nook containing a table, beyond which is an open-air veranda also overlooking the lake. A boy and girl roughly his age, plus a boy and girl who look to be younger twins, sit at the table in the nook all eating a large breakfast)

 **Jason** (to the children): "Uh, hello?"

(the auburn-haired older girl blushes as she makes eye contact with Jason)

 **Older Girl** (shy smile): "Hi."

(A huge black dog gallops into the nook at this time, sliding to a stop next to Jason. He sniffs eagerly at Jason's hands, tail wagging)

 **Younger Boy** : "That's Baskerville. He guards us."

 **Jason** (petting Baskerville): "From what?"

 **Younger Girl** : "Bad guys."

 **Older Boy** (disapprovingly): "He appears to like you."

 **Shina** (re-entering from the kitchen with a fruit platter): "You have names, children, do you not?"

(tense pause while Shina sets the fruit platter on the table and leaves. Baskerville lays down next to the table, satisfied that Jason is not a threat)

 **Older Boy** (authoritatively): "I'm Nathan."

 **Younger Boy** : "I'm James."

 **Younger Girl** : "I'm Jillian."

 **Older Girl** (beat, still shy and blushing): "I'm Laura."

 **Jason** (hesitant): "I'm, uh... Jason."

(Bob and the dark-blonde woman from last night enter the nook)

 **Starforce** : "Ah, you're up!"

 **Woman** (to Jason, sultry alto voice): "Please, have breakfast with us!"

 **Jason** (beat, hesitant): "This is all... overwhelming!"

 **Woman** : "That's one way of putting it." (beat, to Bob) "Nerd-boy, you ARE going to replace the sound system you hot-wired into a sonic disintegrator last night?"

 **Starforce** : "All over it. I'm meeting Pastor William at Frys at 1:30."

 **Woman** : "Good."

(Jason has had enough of not knowing where he is)

 **Jason** : "Who ARE you guys, anyway?"

 **Woman** : "Sorry, I thought you knew! I'm Julie Hawkins..." (indicates Bob) "...this is my husband, Bob."

 **Starforce** (waves): "Hi."

 **Jason** (abruptly): "You're Starforce and Ladyhawk!"

 **Starforce** (to Julie): "At least somebody remembers."

(Julie hits Bob softly while still smiling, apparently mouthing the words 'Stop it!' to him in the process)

 **Ladyhawk** (continuing, indicating the children): "...and these are our children. Nathan, Laura, James, and Jillian."

 **Jason** : "I... met them already." (beat, shy) "Sort of."

 **Nathan** (abruptly): "Why are you making us put up with a teenaged street bum?"

(Julie looks at Nathan in shock)

 **Starforce** (angry): "Nathan Robert Hawkins, this *bum* was being pursued by supervillains when we first met him last night!" (beat) "The LEAST we can do is protect him until we figure out why."

 **Ladyhawk** (stern, to Nathan): "You owe him an apology."

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Nathan** (grudgingly, to Jason): "Sorry."

 **Starforce** (to Nathan, deadpan): "Wow. *That* was convincing."

(Shina has put plates of breakfast down for Bob, Julie, and Jason down on the counter facing the breakfast nook. Jason realizes the aromas since following Shina downstairs have been almost driving him crazy)

 **Jason** : "Uh... which one is mine?"

 **Starforce** : "Pick one. Julie and I will..."

(Jason dives for the nearest plate and starts devouring its contents almost frantically)

 **Starforce** (continuing): "...attack the other two."

(Bob and Julie sit down on adjacent bar stools and eat their breakfasts somewhat more sedately than Jason)

(Jason finishes inhaling his breakfast before Bob and Julie can get started on their eggs. Awkward pause, held gaze)

 **Jason** : "What?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Nobody was going to take that from you, dear."

 **Jason** : "The stronger always do. You learn to eat quick when you find food."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Do you mind if we ask you some questions, now?"

 **Jason** (beat): "That depends."

 **Ladyhawk** : "They're about last night."

 **Jason** : "Oh."

 **Ladyhawk** : "How long have Doctor Destroyer's minions been chasing you?"

 **Jason** (shocked): "They're with Doctor Destroyer? Are you sure?!?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Yes, dear."

 **Jason** (angry and frightened): "What have *I* ever done to him?"

 **Starforce** : "That's what we're trying to find out." (beat, forkful of eggs) "Original question, please?"

 **Jason** (beat): "On and off for over a year, now."

 **Starforce** : "Hm."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Can you remember when they first started chasing you?"

 **Jason** (beat): "Yeah."

(Julie motions for him to go on)

 **Jason** (continuing): "Children's Services had just placed me into a foster home in Irving. I'd been there about a week when a horde of... shadows inside metal skeletons attacked." (shudders) "I still remember the screams of the family as I ran for my life."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Okay, that's a start." (pulls up a voice memo app on her phone) "Cross-index Irving Police Blotter for 2005 and 2006 with Dallas County foster child placement records, same time period."

 **Jason** : "I didn't kill them!"

 **Ladyhawk** : "We're not saying you did. If there was a homicide investigation involved with the attack you just described, however, it's likely that you *are* a person of interest in that case."

 **Starforce** : "We'll help you clear your name, if that turns out to be necessary." (beat) "Have there been any other attacks?"

 **Jason** (beat, thinking): "Several. About every one to two months."

 **Ladyhawk** (finishing her breakfast): "Being homeless probably screws Destroyer's hunt up." (stands up) "I'll be in the sitting room doing stuff."

 **Starforce** : "I'll be in the library when I get done. I'll call for you when Ted calls."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Are you sure he's going to?"

 **Starforce** : "You know he is. Especially when it's weirdness that involves US."

 **Ladyhawk** (kissing Bob quickly on the cheek): "Good point."

(Julie walks off into the Great Room toward the Master Bedroom)

 **Jason** : "Who's Ted?"

 **Starforce** (standing up): "An old friend of ours."

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. 30 minutes later)

(Bob and Julie are locked in the Library. Ted 'Ranger' Jameson is on the flatscreen talking with them)

 **Ranger** : "I see the two of you are staying home today."

 **Starforce** : "If you just got done reading the after-action report from your Special Operations Detachment for last night, you'll know why."

 **Ranger** : "As a matter of fact, I have." (beat) "Anything the two of you wish to add to their report?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Quite a bit, actually. Where would you like us to start?"

 **Ranger** : "Start with 'why was Doctor Destroyer chasing a homeless teen boy in the Metroplex?'"

 **Starforce** : "For starters, the boy has a very unusual energy signature."

(beat)

 **Ranger** (muttered): "I swear, Bob, getting details from you is like pulling teeth." (louder) "How unusual?"

 **Starforce** : "More unusual than Ninjette."

 **Ranger** : "He's fourth-dimensional?"

 **Starforce** : "Higher."

 **Ranger** : "Fifth-dimensional?"

 **Starforce** : "According to *my* sensors, Jason is sixth-dimensional."

(shocked pause, held gaze)

 **Ranger** : "Are you sure?"

 **Starforce** : "The last time I looked at a sixth-dimensional energy source, it was the dimensional rift in Destroyer's base between Honduras and Guamanga two years ago. I'm sure." (beat) "The sensor readings I get from this child are almost identical to what I measured during the assault on that base!" /* "Jungles of Guamanga" */

 **Ranger** : "That was the rift Captain Chronos closed?"

 **Starforce** : "Yep."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Which would possibly explain why he was being pursued by Destroyer's minions last night."

 **Ranger** : "Ya THINK?!?" (beat, examines a computer monitor off-screen) "I know it's less than a day since the incident, but you wouldn't happen to know how long Doctor Destroyer has been chasing this boy, would you?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "I only had time for a very hasty scan of both the Dallas County Children's Services database and the Irving Police Blotter, but the first recorded attack appears to have been a multiple-homicide home invasion in early November of 2005. Officially, Irving Police lists it as a cold case with our boy listed as missing and a person of interest."

 **Starforce** : "He reports several more attacks, culminating in the attack on Carrollton Park Church last night."

(awkward pause, held gaze)

 **Ranger** : "I'm still trying to figure out how Doctor Destroyer could be operating under PRIMUS DFW's radar as successfully as he has."

 **Starforce** (absently): "That's not Doctor Destroyer."

 **Ranger** (annoyed): "He is until we have something more concrete than your supposed proof to the contrary." (beat) "I'm going to pull squads from Houston and San Antonio to beef up DFW just in case he tries anything against you guys before the boy can be placed back into foster care..."

 **Starforce** : "Ted, the kid is manifesting growing powers of 6th-dimensional manipulation! The LAST place he should be is in the foster care system -- especially with the enemies he now has!"

 **Ranger** : "What am I supposed to do? There's no federal law, case precedent, or regulations that cover this situation!"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Well, Ted, I guess now's your chance to make some." (beat, checks her watch) "Now if you don't mind, I have some business to conduct remotely and Nerd-boy has to replace the sound system at Carrollton Park that he weaponized last night."

 **Ranger** : "At least it wasn't a toaster this time." /* "What Happens in Vegas..." */

 **Starforce** (stuffily): "Out of armor, I have to work with what is available to me."

 **Ranger** (shaking his head, reaching toward the screen at his end): "Bye, guys."

(the call disconnects)

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. One hour later)

(Jason comes up the stairs into the Foyer after using the equipment in the Exercise Room. Laura is on the piano in the Great Room playing something classical from memory [[Moonlight Sonata](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhEey0Zeyic), 1st movement]. Jason moves slowly into the Great Room, enraptured by Laura on the piano)

(Laura finally notices Jason out of the corner of her eye and looks up from the keyboard. He looks away a second too late to minutely examine a photo on the wall, which happens to be Bob and Julie's engagement photo)

 **Laura** (shy): "You don't have to look away when I'm playing the piano."

 **Jason** : "I was... just looking at the pictures here." (beat, pointing at the engagement photo) "What's this thing that's really bright and full of stars behind your parents?"

 **Laura** (stopping her piano playing): "They've always told us that it's the core of our galaxy."

 **Jason** : "Oh."

(long pause, held gaze)

 **Jason** : "It's just... well, I never had superheroes for parents."

 **Laura** : "You never really had parents."

 **Jason** : "No." (beat) "What was it like?"

 **Laura** : "To have parents?"

 **Jason** : "To have superheroes for parents."

(Laura lets out a nervous giggle. Jason smiles tentatively)

 **Laura** (getting up from the piano bench): "Let me show you the library."

 **Jason** : "Okay..."

 **Laura** (passing Jason, motioning him to follow her): "C'mon! It's okay."

(Jason follows Laura into the Library. Laura goes immediately to the left and stops in front of a floor-to-ceiling trophy case containing Ladyhawk and Starforce's superheroic kit from 1992)

 **Laura** : "The suit on the left is my mom's. She was the team ninja."

 **Jason** : "Wow." (beat) "What did she keep in that belt?"

 **Laura** : "Smoke pellets, shuriken, flash-bangs, thermite, a grapple gun, marbles..."

 **Jason** (interrupting): "Marbles?!?"

 **Laura** : "When your target absolutely, positively NEEDS to be on its butt *right* *now*."

(Jason laughs)

 **Laura** : "Or at least that's what she always told us when we asked..."

 **Jason** : "Doesn't seem to be the type of weapon a superhero should be carrying."

 **Laura** : "It worked for her."

 **Jason** (looking at the billy clubs by the suit's feet): "Swords and billy clubs?"

 **Laura** : "She had switched from billy clubs to katanas when she retired."

 **Jason** : "Oh." (beat, indicates the suit to the right) "This was your father's?"

 **Laura** : "Yes." (beat) "He hasn't had it on in five years."

 **Jason** : "What about all the medals?"

 **Laura** : "Two each Presidential Medals of Freedom, one for the Day of the Destroyer and the other officially for post-disaster cleanup in Detroit."

 **Jason** : "Officially?"

 **Laura** : "Unofficially, and they weren't supposed to tell us this because of security restrictions, it was for what they did on the Varanyi homeworld just before that."

 **Jason** : "You have *very* interesting parents."

 **Laura** (making a face): "Intimidating, too."

 **Jason** (pointing to two more medals): "What's the language on those?"

(Laura leans over, putting her arm around Jason to do so. Beat, then Jason reciprocates)

 **Laura** : "Oh, those! They've always told us that they're Heroes of the Soviet Union."

 **Jason** : "What's a Soviet Union?"

 **Laura** : "It was a nation that used to include what is now Russia, the Ukraine, and the Republic of Central Asia. It broke apart before Mom and Dad got married."

 **Jason** : "They didn't have anything to do with THAT now, did they?"

 **Laura** (laughing): "Not that they've ever told us!"

(Jason now has both arms around Laura)

 **Jason** : "How do you live up to the rep your parents have?"

 **Laura** (softly): "Who says I want to?"

(they are about ready to kiss)

 **Nathan** (from the door): "Ahem."

(Laura and Jason startle, and release their hold)

 **Nathan** : "Do either of you mind?"

 **Laura** (angry): "Like you never tried anything like this with Jackie Drake in the pool last summer!"

(it's now Nathan's turn to be embarrassed)

 **Jason** (to Nathan): "Leave us alone."

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Nathan** (gesturing, to Jason): "I've got my eye on you. DON'T hurt my sister."

(Nathan leaves)

 **Jason** : "Like what can HE do to me?"

 **Laura** : "You'd be surprised."

* * *

(The Obsidian Caves, near the border between Guamanga and Honduras. Simultaneous with previous scene)

(Shadow Destroyer paces in his Throne Room, regarding the large crystal embedded into the table in front of his throne, as one of his Corrupted Ones waits on his command)

 **Shadow Destroyer** : "So our target has manifested powers again?"

 **Corrupted One** : "Yes, Master. If there is a difference between his powers and those of the dimensional rift which used to occupy these caves, I cannot find it..."

 **Shadow Destroyer** : "If I want your analysis, I will ask for it."

(the Corrupted One stands silent and waiting, properly chastised)

 **Shadow Destroyer** : "So where is the boy now?"

 **Corrupted One** : "A family that was attending the church took him to their house to recover from our attempt to collect him."

 **Shadow Destroyer** : "Well, this should be easy then, shouldn't it."

 **Corrupted One** : "Master, the family that took the boy in was Bob and Julie Hawkins."

(shocked pause, held gaze)

 **Shadow Destroyer** : "Starforce and Ladyhawk?!?"

 **Corrupted One** : "They are retired, Master..."

 **Shadow Destroyer** (interrupting): "Officially. Unofficially, they and their friends have been bedeviling me since my arri... return."

 **Corrupted One** : "A large enough attack on their house should be enough to overwhelm even them, Master."

 **Shadow Destroyer** (absently, manipulating some controls on the table): "I'm sure that's what VIPER thought back in 1992..." /* "The Legacy of Doctor Destroyer" */

(a distant, aerial view of Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II appears within the large crystal)

 **Shadow Destroyer** (beat, absently): "That energy field around it may be a problem. I need to research it further..."

 **Corrupted One** : "Is there anything else you require, Master?"

 **Shadow Destroyer** : "Yes. Send for Oubilette. I have a mission for her since my previous team in Dallas has failed me so miserably."

 **Corrupted One** (bowing): "At once, Master."

(he turns and leaves)

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. Three hours later)

(Bob strides into the Manor from the Mud Room)

 **Starforce** (exaggerated): "Honey, I'm home!"

 **Ladyhawk** (walking out of the kitchen): "Har, har, Nerd-boy."

(they kiss, then Julie stuffs an Oreo into Bob's mouth)

 **Ladyhawk** : "New sound system purchased for church?"

 **Starforce** (talking around the Oreo): "Mm-hm. Better, stronger, AND faster than it was before."

 **Ladyhawk** : "I'm almost afraid to ask..."

 **Starforce** : "I sprung for a 128-channel equalizer as well as more powerful speakers."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Nerd-boy, you're replacing the sound system for a CHURCH, not trying to build a sonic disintegrator for real!"

(James has wandered over to where his parents are by now)

 **James** : "Or run sound for a mega-concert. Wow, Dad..."

 **Starforce** : "I damn near killed the kid the Harnessed Shadows were after last night because I didn't have the control over what frequencies I was throwing at them that I needed!"

 **Ladyhawk** : "But you didn't. Stop feeling sorry for yourself..."

 **James** : "How did you know how to do that?"

 **Starforce** : "Ever since I started going to Carrollton Park, I've always made it a point to know how to hotwire the sound system there to do exactly what I had to do last night."

 **Ladyhawk** (muttered, to herself): "Since 1982?!?" (to James, deadpan) "Your father's paranoid."

 **James** : "VIPER wanted the two of you dead when you were superheroes. It makes sense to me."

 **Starforce** (to James): "Did you need one of us for anything, James?"

 **James** : "I've got some information on Jason you might want to see."

(Bob and Julie look at each other)

 **Starforce** : "Okay. Lead on."

(James takes his parents into the Library. The flatscreen is on, showing a still frame of an intersection somewhere in Dallas late at night)

 **James** : "For being homeless and trying not to be seen, Jason has managed to be captured at least twice using his powers on security cameras."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Other than reflecting dark-blasts from Harnessed Shadows? Because that's what I saw him do last night."

 **James** : "Way beyond that."

(he starts playback. From the timestamp, Bob and Julie see that it happened last spring around midnight)

 **James** : "This was from an intersection camera in Uptown, roughly between Oak Creek and the Cityplace/Uptown DART station."

(a bicycle enters the intersection. An SUV barrels into the intersection from the other street. Both Bob and Julie instinctively cringe, because the bicyclist is about to lose that encounter)

 **James** : "Watch."

(a thin man appears next to the bicyclist in a flash of light. Just before the SUV hits, the man and bicyclist both vanish in another flash of light. As the SUV skids to a halt too late to have spared the bicyclist, the thin man and bicyclist reappear in a flash of light on the far right-hand corner of the intersection)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Whoa."

 **Starforce** : "Teleportation." (beat) "Are you sure it's Jason?"

 **James** : "The house computer gets a match above probability point five between him and the thin man with teleportation."

 **Starforce** : "You said you had another video?"

 **James** (working on a wireless keyboard): "Yes. Hang on while I pull it up."

(the previous video is replaced by what is obviously a security camera looking at an ATM outside a convenience store)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Wait. *How* did you get this video?"

 **James** (beat, defensive): "Uh, Jillian got it for me..."

(awkward pause)

 **Ladyhawk** (to Bob): "I thought you lectured her on breaking into security cams."

 **Starforce** : "I did!" (beat, muttered) "Apparently not well enough..."

 **Ladyhawk** : "This is the third time in a month! You're going to have to ground her this time, Nerd-boy!"

 **Starforce** : "ME?!? She's *your* daughter too, Ninjette..."

 **James** : "Mom? Dad?"

(beat)

 **Ladyhawk** (to James): "Sorry, dear. Please continue."

 **James** : "Thank you."

(he turns back to the flatscreen, missing Julie elbowing Bob and shooting him a dirty look)

 **James** : "The footage was taken at a convenience store near the North Park Mall. Look at the timestamp."

 **Starforce** : "Last summer, after midnight. So?"

 **James** : "When Jason appears?"

(Jason strolls up to the door on the camera footage and with a swirl of light casually walks through it. The timestamp flickers erratically between a date of 2006 and 2019 until Jason reappears through the door, casually walking while eating an ice cream bar of some sort. After he vanishes off the left side of the screen, the timestamp finally stabilizes on a date sometime in 2006)

 **Starforce** (uncertainly): "Okay..."

 **Ladyhawk** (to Bob): "Could 6th-dimensional powers do that?"

 **Starforce** : "It's certainly possible..."

(a sudden, strident beep interrupts everyone)

 **House AI** : "Inbound teleport blocked."

(shocked pause, held gaze)

 **Starforce** : "House, initiate lockdown. Code 4-6-2-2-0!"

 **House AI** : "Initiating partial lockdown."

(deadbolts fire on all external doors only throughout the house)

 **Starforce** (walking to the far end of the library while pulling his phone out): "House, initiate energy scan, 1 kilometer radius. Scan for quantum-displacement teleportation activity or qliphotic energy signatures."

 **House AI** : "Quantum-displacement flare proximate to 860 Stowe Lane. There is now a large qliphotic signature at that location, moving north along Stowe Lane."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Just beyond the south edge of the interdiction field!"

(Bob already has pulled a number up from his phone's contact list)

 **Phone** : "PRIMUS Special Ops..."

 **Starforce** (interrupting): "This is Bob Hawkins. We are about to be attacked by Doctor Destroyer."

 **Phone** (beat): "We're on our way."

 **Ladyhawk** (unlocking the Trophy Case): "Time to suit up old school, Nerd-boy."

* * *

(The Obsidian Caves. One second later)

(Shadow Destroyer and a Corrupted One are looking into the big crystal in front of the throne, which is displaying a 3-d map of Stowe Lane)

 **Corrupted One** : "Shadow Colossi are in position, Master."

 **Shadow Destroyer** : "Excellent."

(he reaches a hand out toward the crystal)

 **Shadow Destroyer** : "It is past time my tormentors began to fear the night."

(he begins to chant something using strange, alien syllables. His hand glows with sickly pinkish-black energy)

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. One second later)

(Jason walks to the door of the Library)

 **Jason** : "Why is it getting so dark outside? It's not even 5 O'Clock yet..."

 **Starforce** (suit in hand, walking back to the Library windows): "No storms were predicted this afternoon, and there are no clouds either."

 **James** (joining his father by the window): "But I can look at the sun without flash goggles."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Yeah, my Danger Sense *is* going off Nerd-boy! Why do you ask?"

 **Starforce** (beginning to suit up): "Hope PRIMUS has something that can see through this. Destroyer must really want Jason BAD to be projecting a darkness field around the manor."

(he's only half right. Unknown to anyone inside right now, the megascale Darkness Field now building over Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II also has a linked Suppress Power Defense associated with it. But that's not important right now...)

 **Ladyhawk** (suited up): "House, map all qliphotic signatures relative to the Manor and display in the Library."

(the flatscreen jumps, and shows a map of the manor grounds. Four large contacts are marked on the West Lawn between the Manor and Stowe Lane, one more is approaching the Front Door)

 **Starforce** (suited up, suit spinning up to power): "Girl Scouts during their cookie drive have nothing on these guys."

 **Ladyhawk** : "The four just standing in the West Lawn look to be Shadow Colossi, but what's the one at the Front Door?"

(the house rings from the impact of something hard hitting the Front Door)

 **Starforce** : "Shadow Destroyer has an intelligent version of a Shadow Colossus he conjured, according to the latest Superhuman Survey. Name's Corundum. Same size, but female and pink..."

(the house rings from another impact on the Front Door)

 **Starforce** (continuing): "...ish."

 **Jason** (nervously): "The door's gonna hold, isn't it?"

 **Starforce** : "Her Allston Rating is only around 70. We should be okay for now."

* * *

(underneath Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. Thirty seconds later)

(David 'Grandfather' Kayami and Jason 'Ghostbane' Kayami run into the portal room. Ghostbane has just finished suiting up. Ranger and Olivia 'Thelambra' d'Alember are already there)

 **Ranger** : ((okay, we're all here, suited up, and on Thelambra's mind-link. What's the situation topside, guys?))

 **Ladyhawk** : ((wish we could have joined all of you this evening but we've got some very frightened children up here))

 **Starforce** : ((and we've already got the museum pieces on just in case))

 **Ranger** : ((the manor's defenses are holding?))

 **Starforce** : ((so far))

 **Ladyhawk** : ((what are they trying to distract us FROM, Ted?))

 **Ranger** : ((don't know, and that bothers me. What can you tell me about the field surrounding the Manor?))

 **Starforce** : ((blocking the entire EM spectrum below 10 Microns. Unless you've got something other than sight to sense with, you will all be blind outside the Manor))

 **Ranger** : ((crap. Grandfather, can you do anything about that?))

 **Grandfather** : ((yes, but I will need to be outside to do so and it will take time to dispel))

 **Ranger** : ((any changes in the OPFOR, Thelambra?)) /* OPFOR = Opposing Force. Remember, he's active-duty Army? */

 **Thelambra** : ((large force of Harnessed Shadows and Corrupted Ones along Stowe Lane just came into range. They're right behind the PRIMUS force attempting to attack the Shadow Colossi))

 **Ghostbane** : ((they're going to get ambushed! We can't allow that!))

 **Grandfather** : ((it is more important that the Shadow Colossi be taken out. They appear to be sustaining some form of Qliphotic Overload I can sense from down here that is helping to blockade the Manor))

 **Starforce** : ((that's a damage field that extends for a 32-meter radius around each and every one))

 **Ranger** : ((and you're the only one of us who can make it across that field to take each one of them out, Ghostbane!))

(tense pause)

 **Ranger** : "House, portal to Dr. Fuseli's driveway. Energize."

(the portal generator spins up)

* * *

(The Obsidian Caves. Simultaneous with previous scene)

(Shadow Destroyer is now looking at a 3-d layout of Stowe Lane and its utility runs within the big crystal. A pulsing red light is in one of the utility runs)

 **Shadow Destroyer** : ((you are proximate to 786 Stowe Lane. Is there a sewer outflow?))

 **Oubilette** (beat): ((found it))

 **Shadow Destroyer** : ((remember, it doesn't matter where you come out in the house. All that matters is that you'll be IN the house))

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. Thirty seconds later)

(Starforce and Ladyhawk have now joined Jason in the Foyer. The Front Door rings and shakes with each blow of Corundum's fists outside)

 **Ranger** : ((PRIMUS is getting chewed up between the Shadow Colossi and the Harnessed Shadows!))

 **Ladyhawk** : ((can't you help? You've taken out Harnessed Shadows before, Ted!))

 **Ranger** : ((when I can SEE WHAT I'M DOING!! We can't see through the Darkness Field that Destroyer's got around your manor right now!))

 **Starforce** : ((what about Reverend Kayami dispelling it?))

 **Ranger** : ((he's working on it, but it's taking too long...))

(Ladyhawk's Danger Sense fires for something in the Powder Room next to the Library)

 **Ladyhawk** : "NERD-BOY! POW..."

(before she can complete the warning to Starforce, the entire Foyer goes pitch-black. To add insult to injury, she is now englobed in an 8 PD/ED, 8 BODY forcewall opaque to Sight Group)

 **Ladyhawk** (katana now out and beating on the forcewall): "STARFORCE!!"

(she only has room to use one katana. The forcewall englobing her takes 2 BODY after defenses)

(Starforce has MUCH bigger problems of his own right now. As he is attempting to use his mask's radar to locate the source of the attack, he finds himself unable to breathe. Also, he now finds himself down 7 BODY and 14 STUN from the simultaneous BODY/STUN Drain Oubilette has also hit him with. There was a reason the megascale Darkness Field Shadow Destroyer placed around the Manor also had a linked Suppress Power Defense...)

(of everyone present, only Jason somehow perceives the female shape that shouldn't have been there striding out of the Powder Room. She appears to have an arm stretched impossibly around Starforce's face)

(zzzzzZZZZZAP!!)

(operating on pure instinct, he teleports behind the strange female form and hits [surprise in combat] for 5 BODY and 31 STUN after defenses)

(as if a switch was thrown, there is light in the Foyer once more. Ladyhawk stumbles as the forcewall englobing her vanishes. Starforce falls to his knees, his face gray and wrinkled as he gasps for air. Jason has Oubilette's head between his hands, screaming along with Oubilette as energy continues to crackle from his hands)

 **Ladyhawk** : "JASON! NO!!"

(Jason is still operating on pure instinct. Even though Oubilette is CON-stunned, he keeps hitting her with his Killing Attack for 6 more BODY and 48 more STUN. Her death-scream fades as her body does, until finally there is nothing left of her except a few drops of blood splattered on the floor of the Foyer)

(Jason collapses to his knees, panting from the stress of his most recent exertions. Beat, then he looks at his hands in dumbfounded shock)

 **Jason** (muttered): "My God, what have I done?"

(Ladyhawk looks back and forth between Jason and Starforce, not sure who needs comforting more in the aftermath of the attack)

 **Starforce** : "I'll be fine in a minute, Ninjette."

(the Front Door shakes from a blow by Corundum)

 **Ladyhawk** (internal monologue): [[protect the Manor first, Julie]] (verbally) "We may not have a minute, Nerd-boy!"

 **Starforce** : "Well then, we'll need to take them out quick! House, location of all qliphotic energy signatures around the manor, please?"

 **House AI** : "All currently located in the western lawn."

 **Starforce** : "Still unchanged. Thank God."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Convenient, too!"

 **Starforce** (smiling weakly): "Why should PRIMUS have all the fun?"

(the Front Door shakes from yet another blow by Corundum)

 **Starforce** (standing up): "House, secure from lockdown, authorization code 4-6-2-2-0."

 **House AI** : "Securing from lockdown protocol."

(deadbolts unlatch all across the manor. Ladyhawk's katanas appear in her hands as if teleported while Starforce charges up a pushed forcebeam for firing)

 **Starforce** (smiling unpleasantly): "House? Open the front door."

* * *

(Stately Dormyer Manor Mark II. Thirty minutes later)

(the lights of police cruisers and other emergency vehicles can be seen flashing along the driveway to the Manor as well as Stowe Lane beyond. Most of the trees along Stowe Lane are either down or have taken damage. A PRIMUS VTOL occupies the helipad, while another one circles Lakewood Village and the East Branch of Lake Lewisville, playing its spotlights on the ground and water below. Starforce and Ladyhawk are observing the rush of activity from the Portico)

 **Starforce** : "Gonna be 20, 30 years to replace those trees. I loved their shade on summer afternoons when I lived in the Guest Apartment..."

 **Ladyhawk** : "You, sentimental about trees?"

 **Starforce** : "Small-town Hoosier boy, Ninjette. Remember?"

(they laugh)

 **Starforce** : "How's Jason taking what happened?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Not well. He's about ready to abandon us and be homeless again because he's afraid that he'll do to us what he did to Oubilette tonight."

 **Starforce** : "We can't let him run away! Not with his powers."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Is there someone who can take him in and be his guardian, then? One who could train him?"

 **Starforce** : "Like the superhero we've helped down in Richardson?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Hm. He's a possibility..."

(PRIMUS agent Tim Corwin runs up to Starforce and Ladyhawk)

 **Corwin** : "I have General Jameson on in our command VTOL."

 **Starforce** : "Thanks."

(they follow the agent to the VTOL on the helipad and sit down in front of the comm equipment while putting on headsets. Ted is obviously down in the Simulator Room of Bob's private labs underneath the Manor, but in civilian clothes)

 **Ladyhawk** (deadpan): "Had a busy night?"

 **Ranger** : "You have NO idea."

 **Starforce** : "Well, it's not that often that we get to break the museum pieces out anymore."

 **Ladyhawk** : "If you're reading the after-action reports, you've got a pretty good idea of what OUR night's been like."

 **Ranger** : "I'm still trying to figure out *how* Oubilette was able to enter your place!"

 **Starforce** : "If I had to guess, based on where we first saw her, probably the sewers."

 **Ranger** : "And are you both sure she's dead?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Positive. I'd be surprised if most of Lakewood Village didn't hear her death scream."

 **Ranger** : "By the 6th-dimensional kid?"

 **Starforce** : "Yeah." (beat) "He's pretty broken up about that right now."

 **Ranger** : "It sounds like he did what he had to..."

 **Ladyhawk** : "We've told him that. It's not helping right now."

 **Starforce** : "Right now, he's afraid that the next time he loses control he's going to do what he did tonight to our family."

 **Ranger** : "Do what you have to so that he's safe and protected. Call me if you need anything in the way of cutting red tape."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Will do, boss."

 **Starforce** : "So what happened out front? I saw a couple of Shadow Colossi and that big pink stone golem he likes to use by the time we mounted our counter-attack..."

 **Ranger** : "PRIMUS got hammered." (beat, grim) "Bad."

 **Ladyhawk** (softly): "Damn."

(long pause)

 **Starforce** : "I was going to complain about all the trees we lost along Stowe Lane from the melee, but that'd be kind of insensitive after hearing that."

 **Ranger** : "Well, I'll let you guys get back to cleanup at your end. I'm sure I'll be getting more reports between now and tomorrow morning."

 **Ladyhawk** : "We'll keep you posted, Ted. Especially if and when we find somebody willing to mentor the boy."

 **Ranger** : "Good night, guys."

(Starforce and Ladyhawk take off their headsets and exit the VTOL)

 **Ladyhawk** : "So you think it would work?"

 **Starforce** (train of thought derailed): "What?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Suburban Lion?"

 **Starforce** : "Oh." (beat) "Ajit and Rajitha are good people. He could do a lot worse than them."

 **Ladyhawk** : "And has, judging from the Children's Services case file I downloaded."

 **Starforce** : "And you want to ground Jillian for hacking into an ATM camera? For shame, Ninjette."

(they're back in the Manor now. Jason is still sitting on the couch he took over in the Great Room after the battle ended. Laura is hovering anxiously over by the piano. They sit next to him)

 **Ladyhawk** (beat): "Are you sure you don't want to stay with us, Jason?"

 **Jason** : "I CAN'T stay with you! You saw what I did tonight!"

 **Starforce** (slowly): "Would you stay with someone who can train you in the use of your powers? So you DON'T kill people with them?"

 **Jason** : "Like who?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "There is an independent superhero who works in Richardson that we've helped out in the past."

 **Starforce** : "He doesn't have powers of 6th-dimensional manipulation, but he *can* teach you the discipline you'll need to live with your powers."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Right now, THAT is what you need to learn more than anything else."

(tense pause, held gaze)

 **Jason** : "I don't know, guys! I... just don't know!"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Sleep on it, dear. We don't need a decision right now."

 **Starforce** : "I'll take you to him tomorrow after work. You can make your decision then."

 **Jason** (beat, sighs): "Okay."

 **Ladyhawk** : "Thank you."

(Ladyhawk and Starforce stand up and walk into the Foyer)

 **Starforce** (voice fading as they walk into the Library): "Can we get out of these now?"

(Jason has been watching them walk off, not registering that someone else is now approaching)

 **Laura** : "Jason?"

 **Jason** : "Oh, hi."

 **Laura** : "You were very brave, tonight. Like my parents." (beat) "Please stay."

 **Jason** (angry): "You SAW what I did tonight, Laura! How can you say that about me?"

 **Laura** : "Easily."

 **Jason** : "And you KNOW I can't stay here with my powers! What if I lose control and kill your family?" (beat) "Or *you*?"

 **Laura** (embracing Jason): "Why don't you let *me* be the judge of what's safe?"

(the kiss, as befitting any first kiss between two young teenagers, is clumsy at first. Both Laura and Jason are quick learners, however. Long pause)

 **Laura** : "I can freeze people in a moment of time, but I don't when I lose my temper. If I can learn self-control, Jason, so can you."

(long pause, held gaze)

 **Jason** (releasing Laura's hold): "I'll try. But I don't dare do it here."

(he strides off toward the Mud Room and the Guest Apartment)

* * *

(Spring Valley DART station, Richardson, TX. The next afternoon)

(Bob and Jason walk up to the stairs leading to the rail lines from the parking lot)

 **Jason** : "Sir, I can take care of myself!"

 **Starforce** : "Someone with your power potential needs to be protected. Especially with the interest my late father has shown in you."

(they are approaching the ticket machines)

 **Starforce** : "Are you *sure* I can't talk you out of this?"

 **Jason** : "I... can't stay with you guys." (beat) "I don't DESERVE to stay with you guys!"

 **Starforce** : "Deserve's got nothing to do with it, son. The moment you entered Carrollton Park Church to escape Destroyer's minions, God literally handed you your biggest break in life fully gift-wrapped!"

 **Jason** : "That's not the way I see it."

 **Starforce** : "Maybe not now. This way"

(Bob leads Jason past the ticket machines, then down stairs leading out of the other side of Spring Valley station into what appears to be an adjacent apartment complex)

 **Jason** : "This superhero friend of yours lives in an apartment?"

 **Starforce** : "Yup. Got a problem with that?"

(They are now inside the complex. Bob sprints up some steps, with Jason following. Very shortly, they are in front of one of the doors)

 **Starforce** (ringing the doorbell): "Ah, here we are."

(the door opens to reveal a smiling girl of Indian descent)

 **Starforce** : "Rajitha! I, uh, didn't realize it was date night..."

 **Rajitha** (laughing, accented voice): "That's quite all right, Dr. Hawkins! I wanted to meet Ajit's new ward. Come on in!"

(Jason follows Bob in hesitatingly. The apartment is large; the furninshings are spartan but comfortable and newer. Massive, crossed swords are on prominent display above the mantle of the fireplace. Traffic streams through the intersection of Spring Valley Road and Centennial Road beyond the main window)

 **Starforce** : "Jason, this is Rajitha Gune. She works at ProStar attempting to turn my research into sellable high tech."

 **Rajitha** : "Which is more difficult than he makes it sound!"

(a powerfully-built man strides into the room. Though he is casually dressed, Jason notes the turban wrapped around his head and a stylized miniature blade on a chain around his neck)

 **Man** (smiling): "Dr. Hawkins!"

 **Starforce** : "Ajit! Hope we're not inconveniencing you..."

 **Man** : "Of course not! When I said I owed you and Mrs. Hawkins after your help versus VIPER, I meant it!" (beat, looks at Jason) "This is the boy you were discussing?"

 **Starforce** : "Jason, this is Ajit Singh Khangura. Ajit, Jason. No middle initial, no last name."

 **Jason** (to Ajit): "You're a superhero?"

 **Rajitha** : "When he is defending the citizens of Richardson and north Dallas, he is known as Suburban Lion."

 **Jason** (beat): "Oh."

 **Starforce** : "Ajit is a freelance programmer ProStar keeps on retainer."

 **Suburban Lion** : "I can't work a regular job, because I keep odd hours for what should be..." (motions toward the crossed blades above the mantle) "...obvious reasons."

 **Jason** : "So, am I staying with you legally?"

 **Suburban Lion** : "That depends on what Dr. Hawkins is about to tell me concerning his friends in Washington."

 **Starforce** : "Julie and I talked with Ted this afternoon, and the guardianship should be finalized by the end of the week."

 **Jason** (incredulous): "But... but... how is that possible?"

 **Rajitha** : "Since it involved General Jameson, I am guessing a National Security card got played on someone locally."

 **Jason** (uncertainly): "Okay." (beat) "Will I be safe here if you're not around?"

 **Starforce** : "Agent Corwin informed me when I made the arrangements that PRIMUS will have one to two covert personnel at all times in the Brick Row development until we're all assured that Destroyer has lost interest in you."

 **Jason** (to Ajit): "What *are* your powers, if you don't mind me asking?"

 **Suburban Lion** : "I'm strong and fast."

 **Rajitha** : "What he cannnot bounce, he can dodge."

 **Jason** : "So your powers aren't..." (trying to not point at Ajit's turban and failing) "...from your ancestry?"

 **Suburban Lion** : "Well, I *am* a mutant."

(Jason laughs in spite of himself)

 **Rajitha** (to Ajit): "He is probably curious about your Sikh ancestry."

 **Suburban Lion** : "Jason, I'm as American as you or Dr. Hawkins are. My parents emigrated from the Punjabi regions of India back in the mid-1960's, well before I was born."

 **Jason** : "So what is Sikh? A tribe? A religion?"

 **Suburban Lion** : "Both." (indicates his turban, dagger, and an iron bracelet Jason has just now noticed on his right wrist) "I wear the symbols of my faith to remind me of the ideals of Sikhism. Honesty, equality, fidelity, meditating on God, and never bowing to tyranny."

 **Jason** : "Oh." (beat) "Are you going to require me to convert?"

 **Suburban Lion** : "Sikhism does not seek converts. You are, however, welcome to join me in my exercises and meditations." (beat) "From what Dr. Hawkins has described to me about your powers, discipline is something you *will* need to learn."

 **Jason** : "So I don't destroy everything around me the next time I have a temper tantrum?"

 **Starforce** : "Basically."

 **Jason** (hotly): "I can keep myself under control!"

 **Starforce** : "Humor me. You'll thank me for it, someday."

 **Suburban Lion** : "And so will all the people whose lives you will touch."

 **Jason** (blurting): "Like Laura?"

(Bob raises an eyebrow while Jason flushes beet-red with embarrassment)

 **Starforce** (softly): "Yes, like my daughter."

(awkward pause)

 **Jason** (waving an arm around the living room): "So, how did you all get acquainted?"

 **Starforce** : "It's kind of a long story."

 **Rajitha** : "And very entertaining, the way Dr. Hawkins tells it."

 **Suburban Lion** : "But not as truthful."

(they all laugh)

* * *

**EPILOGUE** : Fuseli Clinic, Carrollton, TX. One week later.

(Bob and Julie step into Matt 'Biomaster' Fuseli's office)

 **Biomaster** : "I was hoping the Renton's could make it."

 **Starforce** : "They were on assignment. Can't be helped."

 **Ladyhawk** : "You have the results from Jason's genetic sample?"

 **Biomaster** (beat): "I do."

 **Ladyhawk** (Danger Sense vaguely pulsing): "Why the hesitation, Matt?"

 **Biomaster** : "Do you remember two years ago, when the Renton's baby son was originally kidnapped by Captain Chronos?" /* "Jungles of Guamanga" */

 **Starforce** : "Yes..."

 **Biomaster** (beat): "I get a perfect match for Jason's father being Peter Renton and his mother being Marcy Gibson."

 **Ladyhawk** (gasping): "Oh, my God!"

 **Starforce** : "How old is he, really?"

 **Biomaster** : "No more than 14 years old."

 **Starforce** (beat): "He should be only 3."

 **Ladyhawk** (to Bob): "Remember, Captain Chronos originally kidnapped him? Also, we had no records of our Jason even existing before the orphanage in Arlington back in June of 1994."

 **Biomaster** : "So then, Captain Chronos must have taken him back to 1994. Why?"

 **Starforce** : "Why does he do anything? The PRIMUS Superhuman Survey says he claims to be from the 60th Century. For all we know, it's vitally necessary for human history that Jason Renton be moved back in time 11 years before he was born."

 **Ladyhawk** : "True, Nerd-boy, but how do we break the news to them? Peter and Marcy's marriage has been on the rocks since Captain Chronos took their baby!"

 **Starforce** : "Perhaps I can break the news to Peter's parents, first?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Amazing Man and Siren? That'd work..."

 **Biomaster** : "Assuming they handle the news well, how do we get them all to meet?"

 **Ladyhawk** : "Jason's been staying with an independent superhero we know who works in Richardson."

 **Biomaster** : "For how long? You showed me his case file, and trust is something he's never really had."

 **Ladyhawk** : "He's had a really hard life, Matt!"

 **Biomaster** : "Which may get more difficult if his meeting with his biological parents is too rushed!" (beat) "By the time things have been smoothed over enough to arrange their meeting, Jason could have bolted by then and be living on the streets again."

 **Ladyhawk** : "We can't use the *possiblity* of that happening to NOT make the attempt!"

 **Biomaster** : "We will need to be as delicate and diplomatic as possible setting this up, guys."

 **Starforce** : "Well, that rules me out..."

 **Ladyhawk** (hitting Bob): "Stop it!"

(they all laugh)

 **Starforce** : "I'll contact Dr. and Mrs. Renton tonight with what you've told us. We'll see what happens from there."

 **Biomaster** : "Good."

(Bob and Julie get up from their chairs)

 **Ladyhawk** : "Thanks, Matt."

 **Biomaster** : "Always."

* * *

(fin)


End file.
